Myrtleford continue to build through the back end of the year with their third victory on the trot, this time hammering Corowa Rutherglen away by 45 points. The Saints capitalised on a fast start to run out winners 15.10 (100) to the Roos’ 7.13 (55). Despite the marshy ground conditions at John Foord Oval, the Saints were playing dry weather footy to great effect, utilising their kick-mark game to move the ball into dangerous positions early. The forwards reaped the rewards, with Myrtleford booting 6.3 in the opening term for the third week in a row, setting up a four-goal buffer through doubles to Ryley Sharp and Lachlan Murphy-Dale. Conditions took hold in the second quarter, with the game being fought out a lot more at stoppage. The Roos had a lot of the ball, but weren’t able to make any meaningful inroads on the scoreboard, with Myrtleford maintaining a 22-point buffer heading into the half. Momentum continued to flow Myrtleford’s way after the break, with the Saints’ goalkicking and clean skills proving the difference between the two sides. A six goal to nil third term would put the final nail in Corowa’s day, with the Saints cruising to the four points. Matt Munro racked up 28 disposals and 125 ranking points in his 50th senior game, while VFL listed local Dom Bedendo kicked a goal in his senior debut. Lachie Hourigan was immense down back, while Bowen Calogero chipped in with three goals. Senior coach Craig Millar said their preparation over the bye week leading into the match allowed them to attack the heavy ball early. “We trained for the conditions all week, we dealt with them here with the weather and we decided to train on the track with the wet conditions knowing there was a pretty high chance that’s what we would be in for on the weekend,” he said. “I was really pleased with the way we prepared and the way they executed. “They were heavy conditions but the ground itself was holding up well, so it wasn’t the traditional boggy conditions like it would’ve been if it was at our ground. “I thought we overused it a little early in the game, but I thought we adjusted to it. “Once the rain stopped there for a period, we capitalised on that and played the conditions pretty well and pretty sensibly, and we were able to score from that.” Millar praised his defensive unit, particularly Brady Sharp, who was able to keep league leading goalkicker Kaelan Bradtke to just three goals, most when the match had already been decided. “Lachie Hourigan, Zac Pethybridge coming back in after a reasonable lay-off – it was good to see the band back together down there, and I thought they were great,” he said. “They were really good, the back seven, but even our midfielders, we’ve been working hard with our midfield group around our defensive running patterns, they were super on the weekend. “Brady Sharp did an outstanding job on Kaelan Bradtke – he finished with three goals but one was on the siren, one from a deliberate rush across the line and one came from an uncontested mark 10 metres in front when Brady wasn’t playing on him, so he actually didn’t kick a goal on Brady and we celebrated that pretty hard.” Earlier, the reserves recorded their 11th win of the season with a gritty 10-point triumph, 7.9 (51) to 6.5 (41), while the thirds went down 6.5 (41) to 14.7 (91). Over on the netball court, it was another tough day for the A grade Saints who fell to the Roos 31-55. It was always going to be a tough assignment against the ladder leaders, but Myrtleford looked up for the fight early. A hard-fought first quarter saw the Saints trail by just six goals at quarter time, but the Roos put to foot down in the second to blow the margin out to 17 by half-time. From there, Corowa controlled the game, but Myrtleford ran it out well. In other games, the B graders went down 31-43, while the C grade (38-44), under 17 (45-30), and under 15 (66-20) all banked massive wins. The Saints hit the road this Saturday to take on the Tigers at the Albury Sportsground.
